Halloween is pure magic for kids: a night filled with spooky sights, silly high jinks, and endless amounts of candy. But for parents, this holiday can sometimes be a tactical nightmare, and little is as frightening as being unprepared, especially while shepherding a group of trick-or-treaters around the neighborhood. The right gear, like a backpack stocked with sundries and a lightweight water bottle, can make all the difference. From hand sanitizer and wet wipes to illuminating lanterns, here are the cheap(ish) things we recommend for a safe, fun, and hopefully meltdown-free Halloween.
Tot-size trick-or-treat bags
The Baby Baggu takes everything we love about the Standard Baggu but shrinks it down, making it easier for small kids to use throughout the night. This easy-to-clean little bag can hold up to 50 pounds and comes in a range of funky patterns.
Instead of spending money on flimsy plastic sacks that split when they get too heavy, set your kids up with a mini version of one of our favorite reusable totes. The Baby Baggu has the same perks as the Standard Baggu—it’s just as convenient, durable, and easy to clean—in a smaller size. Just like the bigger option, the Baby Baggu can hold up to 50 pounds. We experimented by carrying a 44-pound kettlebell in one for a few minutes, and it stayed intact (our biceps aren’t faring quite as well). Your kid’s candy haul won’t ever weigh that much, but it’s good to know your bag can take it. With a dozen colorful patterns to choose from, you might even be able to get one that complements your kid’s costume (senior editor Catherine Kast got the wild daisy pattern for her daughter, who dressed up as the flowery Isabella from Encanto). But even if you can’t find a Baggu bag that matches, they are cute enough to tote around all year.
A pack for parents
This classic backpack will fit everything you might need to make it through the night without meltdowns.
Trick-or-treating can be hard work, so don’t be surprised when your little one wants to off-load their bounty (along with pieces of their costume) throughout the night. A comfortable, spacious backpack makes for the perfect sidekick. The Herschel Classic Backpack XL—a top pick in our guide to the best school backpacks that even adults can rock—has a cavernous 30-liter main compartment to stow sweatshirts if it gets chilly and other accessories that’ll make your group’s costumes more comfy. “If your kid’s costume involves specific, possibly uncomfortable shoes—we had a version of these Princess Belle shoes one year—I’d bring socks and sneakers as a backup,” says senior staff writer Jackie Reeve. And deputy editor Annemarie Conte suggests stocking your backpack with Ziploc freezer bags to lighten your kids’ candy sacks throughout the night—just make sure to label the bags with their names to avoid potential mix-ups (and subsequent tantrums).
Germ fighters
Cheap and effective, these wet wipes clean up sticky fingers and spills while you’re out on the town.
Any hand sanitizer that contains a minimum of 60% alcohol for efficacy disinfects hands safely, but we recommend Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer if you can find it in stock.
Try as you might to stop them, your kids will inevitably break into their candy stash before the end of the night, and it’s a good idea to disinfect their fingers after all that doorbell-ringing. We recommend Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer, but if you have trouble finding our pick in stock, look for an alternative that has a minimum of 60% alcohol. Keep wet wipes on hand, too, for cleaning chocolate smears and sticky palms; we recommend Seventh Generation Free & Clear Wipes for emergency hygiene because they’re an affordable option for quick cleanups when there’s no sink in sight.
Lightweight water bottles
This durable, plastic bottle is the lightest of all our picks, so it won’t bog you down when your kid inevitably hands it off to you during the night.
This squeeze bottle may not be the most glamorous option, but it’s leakproof and light, and if it goes missing throughout the course of the night, it’s cheap enough that you won’t be heartbroken.
Staying hydrated on Halloween night is important for everyone involved, but the last thing you want to add to your pack is the weight of a couple steel water bottles. Opt for something lightweight instead, such as the CamelBak Eddy+ Kids and the CamelBak Podium bottles. The CamelBak Eddy+ Kids, the lightest pick in our guide to kids water bottles, is durable enough to withstand drops, simple enough for small kids to use, and dishwasher safe for easy cleaning afterwards. For adults, we suggest the CamelBak Podium, a plastic squeeze bottle recommended for travel. It’s not as aesthetically pleasing as some of our other water bottle recommendations, but this cheap option is dishwasher safe and has a twist lock to protect against leaks when you toss it in your backpack.
Glowing accessories
Kids will love these glowing accessories, and parents will love how easy they make their little monsters easier to spot in a crowd.
Once the sun sets, your trick-or-treaters will be harder to spot. Instead of asking them to carry a light, give them their pick of colorful glow sticks to wear as bracelets, necklaces, or whatever else their creative minds come up with. These glowing beacons won’t only brighten up their costumes, but they make your kids more visible to drivers while you’re walking. We recommend PartySticks 8″ Glow Sticks, which come in packs of 100 for about $9, so you’ll have plenty to pass out to other kids.
A pocket-size lantern
This tiny lantern is surprisingly bright, and it has two convenient fold-up handles that you can hang from a backpack strap, a belt loop, or a stroller.
While the kids glow ahead of you, you might want your own light source—and your cell phone flashlight just won’t cut it. Though you could carry around an actual flashlight, we like that the Black Diamond Equipment Moji Lantern casts a strong glow while keeping your hands free. Because this palm-size lantern has two fold-up handles, and it can easily be hooked to your backpack straps, slipped through a belt loop, or hung from a stroller handle. This rubber-encased light feels durable and is extremely easy to use—simply press the button on the side to turn it on and off—so you won’t have to futz around in the dark.
This article was edited by Catherine Kast and Annemarie Conte.
